Chinese ceramics (Jar w dragon)

• Chinese term "ci"

  Connotes either porcelain or stoneware, not distinguishing between the two
• Chinese ceramics were made of naturally occurring clay dug from the earth and distributed to the imperial court, domestic market, or exported
• Stoneware is generally viewed as thick, tough, earthy, and utilitarian compared to elegant, delicate, and ethereal ceramics
• Blue-and-white porcelain industry in China used cobalt imported from Iran and the surrounding region
• Jingdezhen dominated porcelain production for hundreds of years due to its unique variety of clay and highly skilled workforce
• Chinese artisans had developed massive dragon kilns during the Han period

  200 ce
• Porcelain in the West

  High-fired white ceramics, translucent bodies, makes a ringing sound when struck
• Blue-and-white glazed porcelain was developed in the fourteenth century, utilizing underglaze painting process
• Chinese emperors supported and invested in the success of blue-and-white porcelain in the global market
• Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province produced official underglaze blue porcelains for the court, known for its kaolin clay producing extremely pure white, translucent, and strong porcelain
• The Mongol conquest of nearly all of Asia enabled the development of blue-and-white porcelain by connecting influential cultures and providing access to cobalt blue pigment
• Chinese imperial workshops in Jingdezhen


  Produced the highest quality and most fanciful designs for the imperial court, functioning like national labs of porcelain production
• Blue-and-white porcelains dominated the Asian ceramic trade as early as the fourteenth century
• Dragon kilns produced the world’s first porcelain objects and made China the global epicenter for ceramic production
• Stoneware

  Tougher, non-translucent material, fired to a lower temperature
• In the premodern period, ceramics represented cutting-edge material science, and Asian cultures were the global leaders in this technology